Love Never Forgets
by patricia51
Summary: Logan wakes up at the end of DOFP and the future has been reset, which includes him now having someone in his life. No one else is supposed to remember what once the future was. But something seems to draw Bobby and Kitty together. The two of them began to remember flashes of that world that never existed and a connection between them. Bobby/Kitty. Logan/Rogue. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Love Never Forgets by patricia51

(Logan wakes up at the end of DOFP and the future has been reset, which includes him now having someone in his life. No one else is supposed to remember what once the future was. But something seems to draw Bobby and Kitty together as though they once shared something special. The two of them began to remember flashes of that world that never existed and a connection between them. Bobby/Kitty. Logan/Rogue.)

(Flashback scenes are taken mostly from the Rogue Cut. It's a sequel to both of my previous Bobby/Kitty stories "I Will Remember You" and "Empty" but also to Ultrawoman's lovely story "A New World" which has Logan awakening at the end of DOFP to discover Rogue in bed with him and that they are in a relationship. It seemed perfectly reasonable to me and could explain a lot. Assuming X-2 and X-3 were wiped out by DOFP (thank goodness!) we're left with the first X-Men and the connection between Rogue and Wolverine, although he resisted it back then. I think it would also explain Marie's "Hello Logan" and his response when she took over from Kitty and the lack of jealousy between the two women in DOFP Rogue Cut. As for Logan not storming the old school he would not have aware she was being held there. My thanks to Ultrawoman for allowing me to reference her story and use it to build on.)

(Kitty)

Kitty Pryde was teaching her class "Introduction to understanding and controlling your powers". The period was just about up. Honed by much practice she was reaching the climax of the lesson.

"Remember, if you don't know your abilities inside and out you won't be able..."

The petite dark-haired girl mutant broke off in mid-sentence. She stared blankly for a moment before blinking and shaking her head as though she was getting something out of it. She rallied. "Won't be able to control them." The bell rang and she mechanically dismissed the students.

Peter laid a hand on her arm. Although their romance was far behind them now they had always remained good friends. Concern was on his face.

"Are you alright Kitty? What happened?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "And I don't know. It was like something passed through me, like an energy wave. That's not it really. Something happened but I can't explain it. It came and went in an instant."

"Maybe you should let the Professor look at you," he suggested.

"Maybe." she shrugged.

"Seriously."

"If whatever this was happens again I promise I will."

Peter still looked a little troubled but nodded. If she promised something she would do it. "Let's grab something to eat."

"Sounds good."

Kitty followed Peter out of the classroom but paused in the doorway. She took a deep breath and looked around. It was funny, it seemed like something should have changed. Why? Why would anything have changed and what could that something be? She took in the familiar sights and sounds of the school. Everything looked perfectly normal. Students rushing here and there, other teachers coming out of their classrooms, the usual chatter of both. Storm in the center providing hugs and smiles along with controlling the chaos that always seemed to be lurking right around the corner. Fun light-hearted chaos but chaos just the same.

One thing caught her eye. She grinned. Logan staggering out of his room. She smothered a giggle. From the look on his face it appeared that Rogue had kept him up late. Again. He looked worn out. But she was glad they had hooked up. Bobby had told her once that Marie had first arrived with Logan way back when and had a crush on him even then. It had taken some growing up on both their parts; her in age and maybe him in acceptance but they had finally reached a point when they fit. She was glad.

Speaking of Bobby, there he was. And, was it over-active imagination or did he have the same look of "what just happened?" on his face that she suspected Peter had seen on her face as well. He looked around as though he was searching for something. Their eyes met and once more something passed between them; something she couldn't identify. Confused images cascaded through her mind; one after another, none lasting longer than a split second and none of which she recognized. Somehow she did think there was a common thread but she couldn't grasp it.

Kitty blinked. She looked at Bobby again, seeking to find out if he was seeing what she was. But the moment was broken as Logan caught their attention rushing past. He still had that big smile on his face but there was a strange look on his face as well. Not confusion like theirs seemed to be but rather like everything around him was a bit unfamiliar. He turned suddenly and rushed off, towards the Professor's office maybe? That was strange. He had a class to teach next period didn't he?

She was further distracted by Peter popping back around the corner with a "what are you waiting for?" attitude. Giving in she headed his way, missing the way that Bobby was looking at her before she rounded the corner towards the dining hall and out of his sight.

Bobby Drake stood very still as he tried to make sense of his thoughts. Something strange had touched him a few minutes ago, as though for just a moment the world had shifted around him. He looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed. Everything still looked perfectly normal, or at least as normal as a school full of bustling children and teachers, mutant or not, could look. But something had just happened darn it. He just couldn t figure out what.

And why had he stood there for who knows how long staring at Kitty? Probably really hadn't been but a few moments but it had felt like an hour. Why? He liked Kitty, liked her a lot. She was a good friend. She had offered a sympathetic shoulder more than once as it had become apparent that the relationship between him and Marie had run its course. He had accepted it. The whole thing had really been nothing more than friendship that they had both been so young that they believed it was romance.

He missed Marie. Didn't he? Or now that time had passed when he took a closer look had he, had they both, been more enthralled by the idea of romance than their romance itself? Perhaps. Thinking about it now he had always known that she had at least a little crush on Logan from when they had first met probably even before she had arrived at the school. He was content that she was happy. But he missed not having someone special. Oh well, maybe someday. In the meantime he had friends, good friends. One of them was looking at him with a very peculiar expression on her face.

He thought about going over to Kitty But before he could act on the impulse she abruptly turned and hurried away. Probably going to the dining hall he guessed. How she ate so much and stayed so little he couldn't figure out. Maybe that was a new mutant power. He grinned and went in about his business.

(That Night)

Usually after midnight things were quiet at the mansion. Usually. When things DID happen they tended to be spectacular. But tonight what happened was two people rushed from their bedrooms. Without looking left or right both of them headed in specific directions, unerringly traveling the halls until they stopped in their tracks as they met. They looked at each other almost in panic and then both spoke in unison.

"I just had a dream about you!"

(To be continued)  



	2. Chapter 2

Love Never Forgets Chapter 2 by patricia51

(To the guest who requested more Logan/Marie. It WILL come but for right now the focus will be on Kitty and Bobby.)

"I just had a dream about you!"

If Kitty and Bobby had already been staring at each other when they met in the hallway their mutual exchange of exactly the same sentence left them speechless. Momentarily anyway. Both rallied and Kitty even managed a bit of a grin.

"Maybe we should talk about this," she offered.

"Kitchen?" suggested Bobby. "A little ice cream always helps me concentrate."

"I know."

In short order both of them were seated side by side with a bowl and spoon in front of each. Kitty preferred chocolate while Bobby had a large helping of vanilla. For a few minutes they concentrated on their ice cream. Then both leaned back and looked at each other.

"You first," suggested Kitty.

"Okay. We were in a fight. A BIG fight. I don't know where and the whole thing was like a series of scenes one after the other. I do remember you and me falling, together, and just before we hit the ground you phased us both into the ground and then rose back up so we weren't hurt." He grinned. "I remember telling you 'Don't ever do that again'. He turned serious again. "We were fighting a group of other mutants I think although Logan and Storm and Peter and Hank were with us along with a large group of soldiers."

"We were fighting Magneto I'm pretty sure. That's because someone was throwing cars through the air at us. Then someone started setting those cars on fire as they came at us and" he looked thoughtful and embarrassed at the same time, "and I was able to hit them with a stream of ice and snuff the fire out at least."

"What else?" asked a fascinated Kitty.

"We were trying to protect a building. Someone very special was in there. When one of the other side's mutants, some huge guy with a helmet bulldozed his way through everyone and started ramming through the walls you took after him to try to get to that someone first. That's all I remember. Except..."

"Except?" Kitty prodded.

"Except at sometime of another I was able to turn myself into ice. My body I mean but I wasn't frozen in place or anything. I could move and breathe and act normally but I was ice."

"Wow."

"I know. Pretty weird huh?"

"Yes but doubly so because of my dream."

"Oh?"

"I was in a large underground room. How I knew it was underground I have no idea but I did and it was safer for us because of that. Safer for me and Peter and for several other mutants I don't know, although I did at the time. We were being hunted and whatever was hunting us had found us. One of the others had looked up and said 'They're here'. Whoever 'They' were didn't need to be explained. I grabbed one guy's hand and we ran towards a vault where we were supposed to lock ourselves in and then I was supposed to do something with him that would save us while the others got ready to fight."

"Save you from what?"

"Invaders that burst right through the walls and ceiling. They were huge robots I guess. Remember the ones that we studied in History Class? From 1973? These were like them only sleeker and faster and even more deadly."

"Sentinels!" Bobby exclaimed. Vague images filled his mind, images he couldn't pin down but were terrifying.

"Yes, Sentinels." Kitty studied her friend. "I see the name mean something to you as well." He nodded and she continued. "The thing that connects our dreams is that I ran past you going to the vault. And you were riding an ice slide that you continued to create in front of you. And as you passed out of sight heading for the battle I could see that you had turned to ice yourself."

She hesitated. "There's one more thing. When you passed me we didn't have time for words. But I looked at you and you looked at me and something, there was something there, some connection that we didn't verbalize, that we didn't need to. Trying to lighten the mood she tried teasing a little. "By the way, even when you turned to ice you were looking pretty sharp in a black and blue X-Men uniform of some kind. Maybe that's why I couldn't take my eyes off you." She sobered. "I don't know what the connection was but it was powerful. Oh and you had a short beard. That was really hot. I mean different."

"I know."

"You do?"

"When you chased that huge guy in my dream, he was smashing right through walls and I had just a second to imagine him smashing into you. Not that he could if you could see him coming; you phased right through some attackers and then smacked them from behind but what if he caught you off-guard? What if he hurt you? Besides there was..." he suddenly cut himself off.

"Besides what?"

Bobby looked embarrassed. "We were wearing these leather and vinyl black uniforms, X-Men uniforms and when you took off after the guy, well, it was pretty tight anyway and then it pulled tighter and I, well, I mean I," he stopped and turned completely red.

Kitty desperately choked back the urge to break into gales of laughter. She put her hands on her hips and pasted an expression on her face that she hoped Bobby would think was an angry glower but would probably imagine was caused by gas.

"Bobby Drake are you telling me that in the midst of a tremendous battle you took time to watch my rear end?"

Bobby opened his mouth. He shut it again without a word. Another attempt at denying Kitty's question ended the same way. How could she think that he was staring at her rear end? He had been thinking how pretty she was and how he was hoping nothing would happen to her. Then he saw the twinkle in her eyes and rallied.

"Well you know it IS a pretty cute rear end. He tried to look thoughtful. "Of course maybe it will grow up into a full size rear end someday."

Delighted that Bobby could hold his own with her, even if it took a couple of tries Kitty still pretended to be outraged. She held up her bowl and threatened him with it and the spoon. "Full size? I'll have you know buster that you'll have to look far and wide to find a better shaped and squeezable rear end than mine!"

Bobby's jaw literally dropped open. And while she tried to maintain her stern face inside she was flabbergasted with herself. Had she really just said that? Well it wasn't as though there was anyone else around speaking in her voice. Just to be sure she peeked around the room. Nope. No one but the two of them.

There was a moment when embarrassment could have overcome either or both of them. But then Bobby's lips twitched and the twinkle that had been in Kitty's eyes was copied in his. A smile slipped on to her face in reply. Then both of them were laughing and the tension that had building in the room disappeared.

The pair finished their now mostly melted ice cream and carried the bowls to the sink where they rinsed them out and added them to the load already in the dishwasher.

Kitty looked thoughtful. "Do you think we should tell the Professor about this?"

Bobby thought while they left the kitchen. Without making it a formal plan Kitty headed towards her room and almost naturally Bobby walked her there. When they arrived they stood in the open doorway for a minute. Finally he spoke.

"Not yet. I mean I'm not sure if something is going on for sure or if maybe the eggs we both had for breakfast yesterday morning are playing tricks on us. Let's wait and see."

"Okay. Good night Bobby."

"Goodnight Kitty."

The next day the pair went about their usual routines. They did find time to eat lunch together and then dinner. Not that it was that unusual, they had been friends for some time but now their being together seemed to have an edge that was new but not uncomfortable. Bobby walked Kitty back to her room again, thinking that he really didn't want the evening to end already. His eyes zeroed in on something resting on one of the shelves in her room. Remembering how she had once said how she missed using them an idea popped into his mind.

"Kitty? Would you like to go ice skating?"

(To be continued) 


	3. Chapter 3

Love Never Forgets Chapter 3 by patricia51

"Kitty? Would you like to go ice skating?"

"Now? Where?" Although Kitty loved the idea she was a bit dubious as to how it could be accomplished. "There's no rink around here and it s not cold enough to put any ice on a pond or anything."

Bobby smiled. "Leave that to me. Grab a jacket. And your skates."

A few minutes later found them at the fountain. Bobby smiled and reached down. He touched the water with one finger and the ice spread across the entire fountain, springing up to turn the water spraying from the top into beautiful and delicate lines of ice. He tested the thickness of the ice with one foot and nodded in approval.

Smiling happily Kitty quickly sat on the edge of the fountain and put her skates on. She looked quizzically at Bobby.

"You're not joining me?"

"Of course I am."

"But you don't have any skates."

Bobby grinned. He leaned over, bending his leg at the knee so the bottom of his shoe met his finger. He traced a line of ice along it and then repeated the action with the other foot.

"Why bring skates when I can make my own on the spot?" He stepped on to frozen surface and pushed off. Kitty laughed and joined him. In companionable silence they circled the fountain several times, skating easily.

Bobby grinned. He reached out and took Kitty's hand with his. They circled again a couple of time as he began to pull her faster. Kitty laughed in delight.

Unknown to either of them Rogue was looking out of the window of the rooms that she and Logan shared. A smile was on her face. That smile widened as a deep voice came from behind her.

"What are you looking at?"

"Bobby and Kitty ice skating together."

Logan joined her, his arms around her from behind.

"They're good kids," he said.

"I hope it works out between them," Rogue replied as she put her hands on top of his where they rested on her stomach.

"You're not jealous?" he teased.

"Of course not. Bobby and I were more friends than anything else. And I have YOU after all." She continued to study the scene below them. "I think they would be happy together."

Logan was quiet for a moment. He remembered; remembered the future that had been prevented by the now forgotten actions of several people, including the one he was holding right now. He remembered getting off the X-Plane with the Professor and Storm and Magneto. Waiting there for them had been the remainder of the X-Men. Most he hadn't really known but standing in the center were Bobby and Kitty. And they had been holding hands.

That simple position had told him everything he needed to know about what was going on between them. And he hadn't been the only one. He remembered the Professor smiling as he saw the same thing. They HAD been happy together. In the midst of all the death and terror of that world they had found a little refuge in each other. Maybe it could happen again. But if it did it would not need witnesses. He drew Rogue away from the window and closed the drapes.

Oblivious to the duo watching them the young pair continued their fun. Bobby slowed down only to spin Kitty around him. She laughed in delight, even when she stumbled slightly. Quickly Bobby caught her, pulling her against him to steady her, their arms around each other

She looked up at him, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, a motion that Bobby thought was amazingly graceful. Standing on her toes she lifted her face to his while he bent down. As naturally as anything had ever taken place in either of their lives their lips came together.

The kiss was warm and soft, sweet and gentle. But there was something that made it build, not wild passion but a feeling that somehow they were coming together. And not for the first time but returning to a place they had been for a long time. Then it hit them both

Bobby staggered. No longer was he seeing Kitty as she was now with laughter and warmth in her eyes as they kissed. He was elsewhere; they were elsewhere. He didn't know where. But it was dark and gloomy and there was an air of desperation surrounding them. He was touching Kitty's face as he heard himself say "I guess I'll see you in the next life", words that were filled with a feeling of loss and sorrow no matter how much he tried to make them light-hearted. Then he was kissing her there. The kiss had been soft but incredibly passionate. And incredibly sad. It felt like they were in the midst of a Greek tragedy that had only one ending.

Kitty collapsed; her legs suddenly unable to hold her up. There was pain, so much pain. Her arm especially burned and she could hear the dripping of a fluid into a bowl that she knew was her blood. But she couldn't give in; she HAD to continue doing... something, whatever task she had been set to do. But her strength was fading. She just wanted to rest, to let the world go away but she couldn't.

Then he was beside her, whispering urgently to her as though he had words only she was meant to hear. "Kitty I'm going to get help. I'm gonna bring back somebody to help you."

She turned her head. Pain was in his eyes too, the pain of knowing how much she hurt. It gave her strength to know that he cared that much about her. As much as she cared about him. She was glad he was going to get her help but that wasn't the most important thing. She whispered that important thing back.

"Please, just bring yourself back."

He kissed her with all the passion she could ever have hoped for from anyone

Then she was back to the fountain and the school and Bobby's arms were holding her up. There was a stunned look on his face that she was sure matched hers. She clung to him and he did his best to support her and they held each other until they both felt safe.

"What just happened?" Bobby croaked.

In spite of everything Kitty could not resist. "You kissed me you dummy."

"And I enjoyed it very much," he responded, his voice a little clearer. "Until..."

"Until you saw something?" Did he have the same vision?

"Saw something? I think I was there, somewhere else, somewhere dark. But it was with you and we kissed."

The two of them made their way to the edge of the fountain. Kitty took off her skates. To both of their amusement Bobby discovered that it was much easier making the ice form on his shoes than getting it off and he ended up walking back to the house in his stocking feet so they went to his room first. Both were too shaken to discuss the visions they had just experienced much but they said enough to agree on two major points. They seem to have found themselves in the same world but at different times and they had kissed in both.

"What now?"

"I'd say NOW we need to talk to the Professor."

They hardly realized it as it happened but by the time they reach the door of the Professor's office they were holding hands. It felt nice. It felt right. And the looks they exchanged let them see the other one felt that way as well.

The door was closed but a ribbon of light showed at the bottom. Bobby knocked.

"Come in."

The Professor sitting beside his desk. He wasn't alone. Logan was seated in a chair facing him. Come to think of it Logan had been spending a lot of time in here with the Professor and with the door closed in the last few days. Ever since they had experienced that strange feeling in fact. He held up a hand to Logan, as though telling him to hold on smiled at them. Realizing that something was wrong he rolled from behind his desk.

"What is it?"

(To be continued) 


	4. Chapter 4

Love Never Forgets Chapter 4 by patricia51

"What is it?"

The pair exchanged looks. An unspoken agreement was reached between them. "Professor," Kitty began, "Something strange is going on, has been for the last couple of days for both of us."

Seeing the Professor and Logan looking at them as they were with equal measures of interest and amazement something triggered again in her mind and once more she was somewhere else. For just a moment that other world coexisted with the one she was rapidly beginning to NOT think of as the "normal one". It was enough so that she could see herself stagger and collapse, fortunately right into Bobby's arms as he cried out in alarm.

Then he was beside her again, once more in that strange unknown place that they had both experienced. But this time they were there together. They were standing on a cold windy place. Before them was the bulk of the X-Jet. Four figures had just disembarked from it. Storm and, of all things, Magneto were on the sides. Before them, just as they had been in the real world were the Professor and Logan. The Professor was smiling and even Logan had the hint of a grin on his face.

What for? She knew the world they were in now was past dangerous, it was deadly. There was a deep feeling of loss, sadness even a tinge of despair. There was the feeling that they were hunted, hunted like animals and turning to make a last stand. So why the smiles?

Then she knew and Bobby did as well. It was the warmth of his hand in hers. Maybe this world was as cold and barren as it seemed but there was one saving grace and it was that she loved Bobby and he loved her too.

Loved? That was too strong a word. Wasn t it? True she was very fond of Bobby and enjoyed his company and they had been friends for a long time. Granted she had just kissed him, or he had kissed her or maybe they had the same idea together. And it had been a wonderful kiss, even with the visions that had interrupted it. In fact she wouldn't mind at all repeating it. But that didn't mean they were in love did it? Just like they were still holding hands it meant... something, she wasn't sure yet.

Her thoughts had interrupted the vision she had wandered off into. Still it had only been seconds. She looked at Bobby, still with his arms around her supporting her. She admitted it felt nice. He was looking down at her and the expression on his face showed that this time they had been to the same place. And felt the same feelings? Possibly. He looked confused and unsure and perhaps even a bit frightened about what was happening to them. But there was also a look of tenderness in his eyes as they met hers, a sensation of caring.

A polite cough brought their attention back to the Professor who was looking at them with an expression of concern. Interestingly that expression was mirrored by Logan.

"You two just went away somewhere. Was that connected to what you need to talk about?" the Professor asked.

Both of them started talking at once, their words tripping over each other at first. There was a moment of laughter which seemed to release some of the tension. A glance between Kitty and Bobby decided it; she went first with Bobby filling in when his experiences seemed to fit in. They described their dreams and the visions they had each had and finally the one that they had just shared.

"Obviously," Bobby concluded, "we shared the same world, along with people familiar and unfamiliar, including you two. But what world was it?" He groped for the right words. "Some kind of alternate or parallel universe perhaps?"

Both of them observed the looks that the Professor and Logan exchanged, a mixture of surprise and concern. And knowledge? Kitty nearly said something but Bobby squeezed her hand and when she glanced at him he gave the tiniest shake of his head. So they waited.

The Professor rolled forward, searching both of their eyes before making a decision.

"That is one possible explanation. I confess I am troubled but I don't believe there is anything dangerous in what you both seem to be sharing. I need to think about this. I promise we will talk again soon."

Knowing that was the end of the conversation the pair left, adjourning to Kitty's room.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I think that this both is and isn't a surprise for the Professor. Logan as well. They know something that we don't but that we are seeing these, visions or dreams or whatever they are, is something they didn't expect. I'm worried."

Bobby slid his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. "Don't. Regardless of what is going on you know the Professor only has our best interests at heart."

Kitty snuggled against him. It did feel very good. It was even better when he added his other arm and held her all wrapped up. She lifted her face to his. Almost hesitantly they kissed, wondering if that act was going to trigger another vision. But all it did was make them both feel very warm and very close and vey happy.

Mean while back in the Professor's office the two men were trying to come to grips with what had just been told to them.

"What do you think Logan? Although I know about the future they are talking about from what you have told me I still have only the single memory of you bringing me forward to get that talking to from my older self. How accurately do their stories stack up against what you remember?"

Logan pondered for a moment. "Most of what they talked about I wasn't there for of course but Kitty's description of an upcoming Sentinel attack and what she was doing during it matches what they all described to me, to us, when we worked out the plan. And definitely our arrival in the jet and meeting them is exactly how I recall it, especially our noticing when Bobby took Kitty's hand."

He hesitated. "There's more. When we were in Paris and the appearance of Stryker triggered a flashback, which is a strange word for an event that hadn't happened yet, I lost it as you well know. But I believe I lost control in the future as well. I could feel Kitty losing me and with us connected I could tell she was in pain. I think I hurt her. But later on that pain, which had been somewhere in the back of my mind, disappeared. And I heard Marie whispering 'Hello Logan' to me."

The Professor raised an eyebrow. "So there was more than one communication between past and future. Interesting."

Logan smiled, almost bashfully, a look that no one could recall ever seeing on his face. "When I finally returned the other day to 'Here and Now" I was very happy to be waking up with her. Perhaps that connection carried on through time."

"An interesting thought," the Professor said. "Perhaps the connection between Kitty and Bobby became so strong that even the resetting of the time line didn't wipe it away completely. And now it's returning."

"The only other people who know of that future are Hank, Raven and Magneto. Have any of them said anything to you about memories of it?"

The Professor shook his head. "Nothing. As far as Hank and Raven," and he smiled happily that his adopted sister was once more 'Raven', "it may be that because their attraction existed before the events of 1973 and that future they don't need that connection so it doesn't trouble them. Besides," he sighed, "as I recall you telling me both of them died quite early, Raven in the Trask Industries labs and Hank in a futile attempt to rescue her. As for Eric, our communication is sparse but he has given no indication he has any recollection of the future. His thoughts and dreams are still about the past."

"So what do we tell them?" asked Logan.

"Let me think about it over night. The morning will come in plenty of time and we can talk to them then."

But that wasn't to be. In the middle of the night Kitty awoke from a dreamless sleep. Slightly confused she didn't see the form bending over her as a threat, not knowing that after she fell asleep Bobby had covered her up, kissed her on the forehead and gone to his own room for the night. Unaware she sleepily asked. "Bobby?"

The figure didn't answer. By the time Kitty's instincts fully woke it was too late. A cloth was pressed over her face and before she could phase out she slumped unconscious. The figure nodded in satisfaction, hoisting her over its shoulder.

"Hope the other one is as easy as this. Well not my problem," and it left through a panel in the hallway that no one other than the school's staff was supposed to be aware of.

(To be continued) 


	5. Chapter 5

Love Never Forgets Chapter 5 by patricia51

The next morning Logan stirred early. Since his early days he had become accustomed to grabbing sleep when he could and staying in bed late when he could get away with it. He had hopes of staying in bed this morning but sleeping had nothing to do with his plans. He reached out as he rolled over. His eyes popped open. Nothing. No one rather. He was alone in bed.

He sat up and looked around. "Marie?" he called. There was no answer.

Well she had probably just gone early to breakfast. She had told him more than once that for an old man he had a lot of energy and she had to stoke up to keep up with him. Then he listened to what his fingers were telling him and he frowned. Her side of the bed held no warmth. None at all, meaning she had been gone for some time. So where was she?

He got up and jerked on his clothes. The school was just beginning to stir. Going out in the hall he wandered for a bit. He ran into Storm and she hadn't seen Marie. He asked Hank, one of his favorite people ever since he had developed a serum that would suppress Marie's mutation for a while. It wasn't a "cure", it needed to be taken daily and she could skip using it whenever she wanted with no side effects. But he hadn't seen Marie either.

He was just starting to get worried when a wild-eyed Bobby came flying down the hallway and nearly ran into him.

"Whoa kid, what's going on?"

"It's Kitty. She's not in her room. No one has seen her this morning and her bed is turned over. It looks like a struggle took place there. I think she's been kidnapped."

Now Logan was worried. He quickly followed Bobby to Kitty's room. No stranger to crime scenes and struggles he immediately agreed with the younger mutant's assessment of the situation. He sniffed the air.

"Cloroform." He paused. "Interesting."

Bobby had taken the opportunity to search the room more carefully, as though he was hoping he might find Kitty in the tossed to the floor bed covers. But Logan bit back any comment. He and the Professor had already discussed the attraction between the two young mutants and how it echoed from the future.

"From what you have told me that you observed between Bobby and Kitty in the future as well as the dreams and visions that they are having, all of which include the other, combined with what we have already seen between them here and now it's quite obvious that the feelings they had, and possibly have, run very deep between them. Why your consciousness returning has triggered these memories we might as well call them I don't know but it has."

"You haven't read their minds have you?" Logan had asked, rather expecting a negative response.

"No of course not. But just listening to them, seeing how they tend to stand closer to each other the more a memory touches them and let us not forget their holding each other's hands, an action I don't think they were even aware of, speaks to a connection much deeper than just friends." He smiled. "Even if they don't know it yet."

Logan had nodded. And smiled. A good part of the talk between the Professor and him over the last few days had involved the other man catching him up on his personal history as well as the history of the world since 1973. And most of that personal history concerned Marie and him and their relationship.

"You know that she had always had feelings for you. Perhaps it began as a crush but it grew steadily into something much more than that. She dated others, including Bobby for some time but none of those were serious. It was always you. And you, kicking and screaming and protesting the whole way my friends, found yourself looking at her as an adult eventually, not a child and one that you were attracted to as well."

"The final nail in the coffin of your being single was when Hank furthered refined the serum he had developed first for me and then for himself into a broad range drug that depending on the potency and amount could suppress some or all mutant manifestations for periods of time ranging from a few hours to several days. It was not, of course, a 'cure'," the Professor's obvious distaste in how he said the word showing just how he felt about such a thing, "but for certain serious attributes such as Marie's touch it was quite beneficial."

Of all things an impish smile had crossed over the Professor's face. "She and Hank experimented for some time until they were completely confident in how long the serum's effect could be expected to last. That was when she stopped taking 'no' for an answer and launched her all out assault on your virtue." The smile turned into a chuckle that only the Professor's near complete self-control kept from breaking into all out laughter. "The next morning you staggered from your room about four hours after your normal rising time and you looked like your powers of rejuvenation had run out sometime in the night. But the smile on your face, a smile of happiness such as I have rarely seen on your face my friend, proved that she was right in her belief that her feelings would be reciprocated. And ever since then you two have been together."

Logan returned to the here and now as Bobby gave a cry and rose from the floor beside the bed. In his hand he held a broken syringe.

"Look at this Logan. I bet she was drugged!"

"Looks like it," he agreed. With that his worry about Marie came back strongly and he rushed from Kitty's room, determined to tear the mansion apart until he found her. It wasn't long before he realized that the search was futile. She was gone, just as Kitty was.

An immediate council was called in the Professor's study. Storm, Jean, Scott and Raven all gathered with the Professor, Logan and Bobby. The Professor opened the discussion.

"Raven what does your husband say about the syringe that Bobby found?"

"Hank, has not had time for a detailed analysis of the residue found in the syringe but a quick scan shows it to be something along the lines of the serum he developed to suppress the mutant gene. He'll know more in an hour."

The Professor nodded. "Jean?"

"Scott, Storm and I conducted an immediate and thorough search of the school with the assistance of the rest of the faculty. There is no doubt that this was planned and had been planned for some time with a great deal of research and intelligence gathering."

"How can you tell?" demanded Logan.

"Because," and a very grim look came over Storm's face, "whoever did this entered and left the mansion by way of the hidden escape tunnels."

"So we have a spy or traitor among us?"

"Possibly but not for certain," Jean interjected. "Hank mentioned that ground penetrating radar and satellite imagery could very well reveal the tunnels existence and give an outline of where they run. An exploration of the tunnels shows that there has been activity in them possibly going back months, certainly long after the last time we checked them. There may have been snoopers checking them out and finding the inside entrances and how they work for some time. After all, their concealment is from inside the school, not outside."

"So at best someone has been scouting us for sometime and we didn't even notice?" asked Bobby angrily.

"Bobby," soothed Storm, "things have been good between us and the rest of the world for a long time now. Yes we let our guard down but no one could have thought someone would be coming after us after all this time in peace."

"But who WOULD be coming after us?" said Scott thoughtfully. "Who has motive, means and opportunity? Especially the means."

Logan looked at Raven, who was looking right back at him. They both nodded.

"Colonel William Striker," the mother of three stated.

"Him?" asked Jean in surprise. I would have thought after his little fiasco with 'Weapon X' that the powers that be would have canned him for good. Not to mention your kicking his ass in Vietnam that time Raven."

"I was a lot younger then." She looked troubled. "At first he had the backing of Trask Industries and then the government. I'll buy him as the architect of this but who is paying the bills?"

"Good question. There is much that needs looking into but for right now I'm headed for Cerebro to see if I can find Kitty and Marie. Jean would you and Scott accompany me?"

"Of course."

The rest of the room exploded into activity.

Somewhere quite a long way away Kitty was waking up. Her head ached. Heck her whole body ached. And her nose itched and she couldn't seem to raise a hand to scratch it. She did pry her eyes open and look around."

"Where the hell am I?"

(To be continued)

"Someone who really knew what they


	6. Chapter 6

Love Never Forgets Chapter 6 by patricia51

As he, but only he so far anyway, remembered he had once remarked to the Professor patience wasn't his strong suit. It still wasn't. But somehow he managed to keep under control, relatively anyway, while the Professor, accompanied by Jean and Scott took to Cerebro to search for Marie and Kitty. Considering the things that had happened in there before it probably was a good idea to have someone with him. Storm and Raven had split up, the former seeing if she could follow any trail the kidnappers might have left after they exited the tunnels and the latter to start looking into someone she wondered that might be carrying on Trask Industries research on mutants.

"Just rumors," she had told the group as they had split up, "but I heard bits and pieces about them while I was searching for mutants particularly in Europe although the company is based in the US." More than that she wouldn't say as she wanted to have more information before making any accusations.

Hank was of course buried in his lab making a detailed analysis of the residue found in the broken syringe. He wanted to try to determine how effective the serum might be at suppressing mutant powers and how long it might last. He also hoped it might give him hints as to where it was made. Logan couldn't see how that could happen but he acknowledged that Beast was the genius, not him.

In the meantime he had to wait for everyone else to return. Waiting was like patience, not something he was very good at. Considering the circumstances it was even harder than usual. And watching Bobby frantically pace back and forth was not helping. He opened his mouth to tell the kid to calm down and shut it again without saying anything. It wouldn't help. Not Bobby; not him either.

Instead he pulled out a cigar. He didn't light it; Marie had pretty well broken him of smoking. After all, given a choice between kissing her or puffing on a stogie the choice was pretty clear. So he just chewed on it, closed his eyes and tried to remain calm. "Think peaceful thoughts" as Kitty had once urged him to do.

Thinking of Kitty made him open his eyes and study Bobby. He remembered that Kitty had told him that just before she had sent his consciousness back in time. He and the Professor, well okay almost completely Charles, had tried to figure out how the two youngsters could remember things that the time-line resetting meant had never happened.

What was funny on the other side of the memory problem was that more and more he began to "remember" things that had taken place between 1973 and his consciousness awakening again a few days ago. Where had it been in those in between years? He didn't know. But just as Bobby and Kitty were recalling things so was he.

Some of those memories were not pleasant. He recalled the circumstances of his first meeting with Jean in the experimental facility run by Striker. He had been nothing much more than an animal then, driven near to insanity by what had been done to him. When he had met Jean again years later after Storm and Scott had intervened during the attack by Sabretooth on him and Marie he hadn't even remembered her. Only recently had that memory returned. Strange.

But mostly he was remembering Marie. The young woman he had found hiding in his trailer, the one he had dropped by the side of the road and then realized he couldn't do that. The young woman who had wanted to go with him when he left in search of who he really was and where he came from. The woman who was waiting for him when he came back; a woman now, not simply a young one.

She was persistent. She asked him out and when he said no she simply smiled and waited for a while before asking again. When she wasn't asking she was staying near to him. Over time he had accepted that. Accepted? Even before their first real date he had got to the point that he wasn't comfortable when she wasn't around.

Even in the midst of all of his worry he couldn't help but grin inside when the newly remembers images of that date came to him. After all, he was NOT exactly a ladies man given to good restaurants, wine, brilliant small talk and extravagant compliments. His preferred place was just like the one where he had first met Rogue, although at the time he hadn't seen her. Dark, smokey, cheap with the entertainment furnished by whatever fights broke out over the course of an evening.

He had been lucky. Upon hearing the news Storm, Raven and Jean had descended upon him in a group. Brushing aside any objections or half-made plans of his they had taken complete charge. Everything from his wardrobe to where he was taking Marie to dinner and after had been decided by the trio, including an absolute veto of his "borrowing" Scott's motorcycle.

"In fact," Jean did the finale of the three person lecture as she carefully straightened his sport coat, "it's about time you bought something a little more suited to your position as a sober, industrious teacher and respected community figure." When he opened his mouth to protest everything she had just said she continued. "Behave Logan or we'll make you wear a tie." He surrendered.

He had looked at Jean and smiled. Since the first time he had seen her he had been at least half-way in love with her and that attraction had only grown over time. It certainly had NOT made for a good relationship between him and Scott. Okay his stealing Scott's motorcycle hadn't helped either. Over the years they had learned to depend on each other but there was always something between them. Something named Jean. But looking at her now he felt something different. Looking back later he realized that the closer he and Marie got the more his relationship with Jean changed; becoming the deep friendship that perhaps it was always meant to be. And freed from the specter of jealousy he and Scott had begun to get along. Oh they would never be best buds but they had reached a point where they could work together and at least respected each others' abilities.

By the time Storm had confessed that the trio of women had developed a plan (which he called a plot) they had titled "Civilizing Logan" he had not only figured it out but he had discovered that far from objecting to it he was happy about it. Of course he and Marie had a secret. She wasn't going to let them go too far in their civilizing.

"I fell in love with you Logan, just as you were. Oh a few improvements are okay but I don't want a 'Man in the Gray Flannel Suit'. I want you."

They had been together ever since then.

And now they weren't. Logan had managed to distract himself with those memories but he returned to the here and now with a jerk. Looking down he saw that his claws had extended. After all, he wasn't just Logan. He was also the Wolverine and that side of him was beginning to take over. By the time Jean stuck her head in the room he was growing more and more in the mood to tear someone into little bitty pieces. He just needed to find out whom that someone was and where he could find them.

His mood wasn't helped by the expression on the Professor's face. Even before the man spoke Logan knew what he was going to say.

"I can't find them."

"Obviously they are being hidden," Jean mused.

"How?" a frustrated Bobby asked.

"There are ways. When Stryker raided the school after Charles was kidnapped by Apocalypse both the helicopter that took Raven and the others away as well as the facility they held them, and you Logan, in were both protected by an electrical field of some kind that dampened powers. Kurt was unable to teleport through them."

"Speaking of Kurt has anyone seen him?"

"He's gone," Hank came in with a worried expression on his face. "He and Raven took off."

"Where? Why?"

"She said they were going to look into something called the Essex Corporation. She took Kurt to help her."

The whole group knew that Raven had developed numerous contacts throughout the world in her quest to rescue mutants, as she had indeed rescued Kurt Warner, known as Nightcrawler. Some of those contacts were in deep dark places."

"Why does she suspect Essex?"

"Just hints and rumors she has picked up over the years."

"Well," the Professor said, "let's look into them as well."

More waiting Logan thought. Patience was still not his strongest suit.

(To be continued)

(Notes: Although I understand that the Essex Corporation and its leader play an important part as a foe to the X-Men in the comic book world I don't know enough about that to follow that storyline so I'm simply going with the clip from the credits scene of "Apocalypse". And "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" is a 1955 novel by Sloan Wilson that deals with the post WWII America, the rise of corporate business and reduction of the white collar middle class worker to faceless interchangeable men. It was also a 1956 movie starring Gregory Peck


	7. Chapter 7

Love Never Forgets, Chapter 7 by patricia51

"You have got to be kidding me," Raven McCoy muttered to herself as she shifted through the contents of yet another file folder, spilling a set of pictures along with a number of printed pages. She quickly but thoroughly scanned those reports, her lips curling in disgust. "Trask Industries all over again."

Regardless of how involved she was in looking over the information showing that this Essex Corporation was indeed following in Trask's footsteps and experimenting on mutants she was not caught off guard when someone entered the room. She had already swept the papers back into the folder, replaced it in the file cabinet and quietly closed it before a uniformed guard stuck his head in and surveyed the situation. He raised one eyebrow.

"You planning on spending all night here Sarah?"

She gave a deep sigh, in the voice of the older woman whose appearance she had taken out in the parking lot a half-hour before. It had been tricky, getting the cleaning woman to go home on a faked errand that had also allowed her, in the guise of one of the perimeter guards, to get close enough to her to duplicate her appearance and more.

Working with Hank and the Professor had sharpened her natural abilities to the point that she was able to use her powers to transfer the image of one item exactly to that of another one, in this case her ID badge. Correct down to the bar code it would allow her to get in the building. Along with the woman's personal code of course. Wasn't it fortunate that Essex required their employees to sign out as well as in and that a teleporting Kurt, blending into the shadows as only he could had been close enough to memorize her code?

The guard at the entrance had been surprised to see her. Sarah that is.

"Didn't you just leave?"

"Prank call," she had grumbled. "Someone's hide is going to get tanned later."

"I hear you," the man had laughed.

So far she had accomplished two of her objectives. She had confirmed that Essex was experimenting on mutants. Combined with discovering that one Colonel William Stryker was now employed by Essex as a "security consultant" had meant that it was a near certainty that they were behind the kidnapping of Marie and Kitty. What she hadn't found was where they were being held. She only knew that it wasn't here. Since Essex was world-wide that left a lot of places. She was running out of places to look here. And time. It wouldn't be long before the real Sarah discovered that she had been sent on a wild goose chase and came back.

She headed for the door just in time for it to open again. The same guard stood there, a rather embarrassed look on his face.

"Sarah I know you've already cleaned the security office but we had a bit of an accident there. Would you mind?"

"Okay," Raven managed to put a heartfelt sigh into the single word answer while being rather jubilant inside. She corralled the cleaning cart and followed the guard.

Once there the escorting guard returned to his duties, leaving her alone with one supervisor. He needed to go and Raven thought she knew just how to make him do that. While he rambled on about the accidental spill that she was busy cleaning up she used the opportunity to contact Kurt.

On their way out they had dashed by Hank's lab and picked up a couple communication devices that her husband had developed. A near invisible throat mike meant that speaking out loud was not necessary. Sub-vocalizing, basically mouthing the words without sound, was picked up and sent word for word to the receivers concealed deep in their ears. In response to Raven's message an alarm began to sound as Kurt teleported to the fence surrounding the complex and disturbed it. Once the alarm sounded he teleported back to the parking lot.

The result was immediate and everything Raven had hoped for. The supervisor on duty got busy snapping out orders and then left the room to take charge of the response team. She had thought he was that kind of guy from listening to him; the kind who would get tunnel vision on what was in front of him and concentrate on that rather than seeing the whole picture. She leaped to the computer he had left logged on and began to hunt. It didn't take long to find what she was looking for; the overall schedule of the guard force, which included the rotation among other Essex sites. And there were the latest trips to a location that there was a reminder to always check in with Colonel Stryker immediately upon arrival, before anything else. Apparently the good Colonel had complained. He would.

"Now where are you?" Raven muttered. "Not you Kurt," she hastily added before the other mutant responded. It took several nerve-racking minutes before she could exclaim "Found you!" Hastily she returned to computer to its original screen, which happened to be a half-completed game of solitaire. Finishing her cleaning she pushed her cart out into the corridor. As she headed down the hallway the returning supervisor passed her, grumbling to another guard.

"Must have been an animal of some kind. I'm tired of these false alarms but I guess it comes with the territory."

Raven was at a bit of a loss about what to do next. Her problem was resolved when she received a message from Kurt.

"Raven the cleaning woman is back."

"Perfect. Give me just a moment." She looked around. Yanking open a door she peered inside. Empty office of some kind. She stood in the middle, checking to make sure there was nothing within arms reach. She fished in a pocket. Taking an elaborately engraved disc out her laid it on the floor and backed away. "Okay Kurt. I'm ready. Can you bring her here?"

In answer there was a "pop". Kurt stood there, holding the real and very confused Sarah by the arm. Raven leaped to him, picking up the disc as she did. Holding on she looked at the other woman.

"It's up to you but I would suggest that you simply forget all about this. I seriously doubt that any one is going to believe you. Don't forget to sign out." Then they were gone.

Sarah blinked. Twice. She looked around. Taking her cart she headed towards the room where the cleaning supplies and equipment were kept. Several people greeted her along the way. No one seemed surprised to see her. She finally decided that the whatever-or-whomever-in-the-world the people were that she had just meant were right. She'd forget the whole thing happened. She didn't know that she was covered in more ways than just one. When Raven had assumed her identity she had blanked out her fingerprints, a trick she had learned. So if anyone suspected the security computer or the paper files had been gone through there would be none of Sarah's prints to be found except where they needed to be.

Meanwhile the two intruders were headed home. Raven checked with Kurt.

"How are you feeling Kurt?"

"I'm alright. It was a bit scary as always," the German born mutant confessed.

Kurt's teleportation was limited to places that he seen or that he had previously visited. That ability had been proved useful again and again during the times after the battle with Apocalypse when Raven had given in to his often repeated requests and allowed him to accompany her during her trips to seek out and free other mutants. Of course those were not the free wheeling missions she had undertaken before. They were limited and often included others and took place when training of the expanding X-Men or serious threats requiring all or most of the group weren t in the offing. They had basically come to an end a few years ago when Raven and Hank married and started their family.

One aspect of training they had hit on was the idea of Kurt using a familiar object rather than a place to teleport to. It had taken much practice, beginning with the engraved disc being placed where he could see it, then hidden behind a screen and finally completely out of sight behind walls. It was nerve-racking for Kurt because he worried he might teleport into a place where there wasn't room for him. But they had persevered and careful precautions to only have him come to large empty spaces had worked so far.

"I know and I'm proud of you as always," Raven told him with a smile.

"Thank you. Was this a success? Do you know where they have taken our friends?"

"It was. I believe I know."

"Thank God." The Catholic mutant crossed himself and said a short prayer of thanks. Raven wished sometimes she had his faith. In the meantime she slowed and held his hand, hoping that indeed someone was listening and helping them.

"Where are they?" he asked when the prayer was finished.

"Some place I should have guessed. These people are very good but they are very arrogant. I'll tell you when I tell the others as soon as we get home. I will say though that it's someplace that you have been before."

"Good."

(To be continued)


	8. Chapter 8

Love Never Forgets Chapter 8 by patricia51

"Surely you jest," marveled Jean at Raven's revelation as to Stryker's location where they felt sure they would find their missing friends. Friends and more than that to the two very different men already on their feet and ready to charge that location or Hell. Whichever came first. She waved her hand. "I know, you're not jesting and stop calling you Shirley."

Groans from the group gathered in the Professor's office greeted her last comment but the tension was eased slightly.

"It really goes with what we know of Stryker though," Raven pressed on with her discovery. "He's always been arrogant; sure that he's in control. Why not there?"

"But," Scott objected, "There? It's a place of humiliation for him. Logan wiped out his entire guard force and sent him running out the door. In fact he was the commanding officer who deserted his men and his post. It seems to me he would be ashamed of the place."

"Still, that's where the trail leads. The same facility where they experimented on Logan and kept us captive after raiding the school."

The Professor listened as the discussion went back and forth. When it sputtered out he spoke. "While it seems strange that anyone would return to the scene of a battle that they lost so completely it's not out of the question for Stryker to use a facility that he is intimately familiar with and has most of the equipment and facilities needed for research on mutants. Any lack could easily be supplied by this Essex Corporation." He paused. "What I wonder is why pick Rogue and Kitty? Granted their powers are impressive but neither of them are really a weapon. Why not Scott or Jean or others? Raven even, we know that was Trask's plan and therefore something that Stryker would be familiar with."

"There is another possibility," said Storm quietly. "It might very well be a trap."

Silence settled over the group, finally broken by Hank.

"Yes. I agree. In fact I'm pretty sure it is."

"Why?"

"Because of the residue I recovered from the syringe that Bobby found in Kitty's room. Analysis shows that it's a crude form of the serum I developed, specifically for Rogue at first, to temporarily suppress her powers. Although meant for her it would work on any mutant. The more powerful that one's powers are the less effective it would be, both in disabling those abilities and the length such effect would have. It won't disable them on any kind of permanent basis."

"Not yet," Jean said quietly. "But research never stops. One day it could reach that level of effectiveness."

"Another reason to find this place and stop everything going on there."

"Well," astounding himself and everyone in the room Logan tried to break the building tension, "how effective could it be? After all, I'm not going to just stand by and let someone stick a needle in me. And a syringe in one hand and a cloth with chloroform in the other isn't going to present much more danger."

"True," put in Raven, "but what if it was used from some kind of dart gun?"

"Did you find any evidence of that?" the Professor asked rather urgently.

"No," the shape shifting mom admitted. "The guards were armed with standard weapons as far as I could tell. But isn't that a logical step?"

"It is. All the more reason we need to strike and strike fast." Logan was rapidly returning to being Wolverine. He pictured Rogue, and Kitty too, strapped to tables and being experimented on and his temper began to rise.

"Twenty four hours," said Hank.

"For what?" demanded Bobby.

"I have been designing new uniforms that include Kevlar in the weave of the material. Surprisingly it s easier to stop a bullet than a needle or a dart. In twenty four hours I can have that weave tightened and we'll be at least partially protected."

Nods from most of the people in the room confirmed they agreed. The Professor indicated his confirmation and Hank left. The rest of the group started planning.

"Jean, Scott and Kurt you know more about the layout of the complex than the rest of us do. After all," the Professor smiled, "the rest of us who were there didn't see much other than the room we woke up in and the route to the outside that you led us through. So you draw a schematic as best as you can and using that we'll plan the assault and decide who is going." He held up a hand. "Yes Logan I'm aware that you and Bobby are planning on going and NOT planning on taking no for an answer. So we'll assume that as a given and let's get to work."

(Elsewhere)

Kitty's head ached. It ached a lot. In fact it hurt. But then so did the rest of body. The straps that held her to the table chafed and even when the drugs she was given on a regular basis started to wear off she couldn't move. Worst of all were her arms because that's where she was given shots on a regular basis, both to hold her power to phase in check as well as to draw innumerable samples of blood for analysis.

The almost faceless men in white lab coats studying her had learned fairly well how long each dose of the serum lasted. They wanted her powers to almost surface. Daringly they had several times allowed it to wear all the way off so those samples of blood and DNA could be studied. She had been warned about what would happen if she attempted to escape.

The stern faced man in uniform had been blunt, hatred shinning in his eyes. "Mutant if you try to use your ability to pass through solid objects you can kiss your friend there goodbye. No matter how fast you can move a bullet will move faster and there is always a gun trained on her from one of the ports around the room."

She believed him. She believed him even more when she saw how ruthless the experimenters were with Marie. Where they got their test subjects from she had no clue but several times a person was brought in and made forcibly to make skin to skin contact with Rogue. Usually they continued the contact until the subject passed out but at least twice she was certain they maintain the contact until the individual was dead. The scientists seemed very excited about that. And pleased, which would have terrified Kitty had she not become so determined to maintain control over herself.

She had remained still because she took the threats to Marie so seriously but for a while she had been doing her own form of resistance. During the study periods when the drugs were deliberately at their least effective she had not moved but she had taken the opportunity to quickly phase in and out as rapidly as she could. Not so much that the straps would fall through her but enough so that not all of the drug dampening her powers was being absorbed by her body. Small amounts simply dripped right through her or ended up in parts of her body other than her blood stream. She supposed that sooner or later those amounts would do something to her but right now the important part was that she had a great deal more control over her facilities than the humans around her could have believed. She took no action yet. She listened.

Listening to the conversations around her she found out that so far none but humans had been used as test subjects. The researchers seemed quite put out that no mutants had yet been taken for them to use. They seemed confident though that before long they would be able to pick and choose among a selection of subjects. By listening to their comments and discussions she knew what was going on.

This whole thing was a trap. She and Marie had been picked not only to be experimented on but because of the reaction that was expected from Logan. They were sure that he would come storming in here in a blind rage and fall victim to them. They felt that no matter how powerful he was that they could hit enough times with their dart drug guns to incapacitate them. And if that failed they could always hold the same threat over Logan that they held over her; that they would kill Marie. She herself had been taken only as someone to hold over Marie's head in turn. They had no idea how close she had Bobby were growing not\r how powerful she had seen he could become in those recent visions and dreams.

"This time he won't escape. I don't know how he got out of his cell last time but this time it will hold him."

Nothing like planning with incomplete and outdated information she thought. As the first explosion rocked the entire complex, the lights flickered and panicked shouts sounded everywhere Kitty felt that Stryker and his buddies were about to find out just how wrong all of their assumptions were.

(To be continued)


	9. Chapter 9

Love Never Forgets Chapter 9 by patricia51

"Stay calm everybody," William Stryker's command voice rang through the control room, beating down the shouts and panicked cries echoing around him. Dust still fell from the ceiling, the complex having been rocked by the explosion. "This was to be expected. Don't panic. The mutants are walking into our trap. Everyone check their individual weapon. Make sure it is loaded with the tranquilizer darts."

He ran through the scenario in his mind. He was sure he had covered every base. Granted he still had not figured out how Weapon X had got free the last time but had that not happened he would have got the information he needed. Sooner or later the mutants he had taken from the school would have told him where Magneto was. Then they would have been disposed of or could have gone into the holding cells to be experimented on. After all, they weren't human. Not really. They were a threat to humanity in fact and threats had to be neutralized.

He didn't care about all that BS about a mutant saving the President or mutants defeating some global threat. All those instances were just animals fighting with each other. He particularly despised that blue skinned one. Making out to be a hero after she had freed those mutants in Vietnam and threatened the great Bolivar Trask. HE had understood the threat. He didn't care how attractive she tried to look, all blonde and beautiful. He knew what was inside her. And he owed her twice for hitting him. Of course both times they were sucker punches he told himself righteously.

After the unaccountable escape of the mutants and the traitor Taggert from here last time he never thought he would see this place again. He never thought he would have the opportunity. When Essex Corporation approached him he couldn't believe his luck. He had leaped at the opportunity.

The support he had received had been incredible. That their aims went along with those he and Trask had shared he had never questioned. They had furnished detailed reports on the leading mutants, their strengths and weaknesses and suggestions how to deal with each one. Scouting reports had revealed the secret exit from the so-called school and therefore the clandestine way in the corporation's special operators had taken to bring him the two female mutants. That wasn't kidnapping. Kidnapping only applied to humans.

He had been just a little surprised and maybe a bit reluctant when he was told that the previous Trask Labs facility had been renovated and was open to him to use again. The arguments had been persuasive. There had been practically no physical damage to the facility itself or the research supplies. It would be easy to fix up and bring in the latest test equipment and it was set where no one would notice or be likely to interfere. Best of all, there would only need to be a slight trail of bread crumbs at most before the mutants figured out where their missing members were and charged to the rescue.

The one thought that he kept firmly in check was his actions during the escape of the mutants and Weapon X. viewed in a certain way his decision to immediately leave the complex once the weapon was loose could be construed as abandoning his post. But he already knew the battle was lost and it was important to save himself so he could rebuild somewhere and come back stronger. He had been right of course; to have stayed would only have meant he would have died along with his underlings. They were all replaceable anyway. Perhaps locking the outer door so no one else could leave had been a bit hasty but things like that couldn't be undone. And his actions had turned out for the best. Had he not escaped he would not have the opportunity to pay all those mutants back for everything they had done.

He had carefully selected the mutant Rogue to be his primary target. Not only were the scientists fascinated by her ability to draw energy and powers from other mutants, and humans as well they assumed, observation had shown that she was in a relationship with the ultimate goal of the operation, Logan the so-called Wolverine. But he had also needed another mutant so he could hold each of them over the other's head as a threat. Do what we want or else your companion gets it.

He had considered making an attempt on one of the blue mutant's three children. But the quarters she and they shared with her reputed husband were not near any of the hidden exits his scouts had found. And since the brats were a product of two mutants there was no telling what kind of powers they might have. No better to take someone else. It had been risky choosing the girl, her power made her slippery but she could be counted to stay in line with threats about the other one. Besides, the boyfriend she had was young enough and passionate enough to be counted on to fly off the handle and rush to the rescue. Exactly what he wanted.

And had accomplished obviously as another explosion resounded and jerked him back to the here and now. Now his plans were coming to fruition. He ordered his troops to respond and stepped to check the monitors. There they were; pouring in like rats through a hole they had blown in the outside wall. He positioned himself and began to direct the battle.

Far from the battle Professor X waited at the mansion, his mind observing through the use of Cerebro. His consciousness darted from one point to another, maintaining a watch for mental spikes that he might need to investigate. Some were already clear; particularly those of Bobby and Logan who were raging through the complex already.

He smiled as he watched Bobby confront a near solid wall of guards. His raised hands sprayed a wall of ice between them and him and his fellow mutants. Old fashioned guns using jacketed ammo might have pierced and shattered the wall but the darts simply bounced off. Then Kurt grabbed Bobby with one hand and Raven with the other and teleported the three of them just a few feet behind the guards. Before they could turn Bobby had created a second ice wall, trapping a large portion of Stryker's security force between them. The mutant trio ran on.

In another hallway Storm, Jean and Scott leveled the opposition before them. Gusts of wind blew the darts back upon their users. Those that did slip past were easily blown out of existence by Scott eye beams. And some of the time the attackers couldn't even find the three powerful mutants with their minds clouded by Jean.

Not that she used that power all that much for the first trios were designed to draw the guards away from the captive. Charles had already determined where Rogue and Kitty were being kept and an increasingly infuriated Logan was making mince-meat of anyone in his way. Charles caught a mental spike, Stryker was seeing what was happening and initiating what he hoped would be a series of effective traps. Heavy blast doors closed, pinning the advancing mutants between them and blocking the path both to the girls and to the control room.

To now avail. Scott took the first door he, Storm and Jean encountered with a blast that flattened the troops trying to rally on the other side. Raven, Kurt and Bobby were thwarted momentarily until Bobby froze the steel so such a low temperature that the metal became brittle and crystallized. One sharp blow with a handy fire axe pulled from its emergency case and the door shattered.

None of that was as impressive as the duo battering its way towards the control room. Charles shook his head. Who would have believed it? Regardless of the situation he couldn't help but picture the last time he had seen them together. Then they had been trying their very best to kill each other. But now Logan was tearing down the hallway with a shield floating in front of him. A glass shield with a metal rim that Erik was keeping in front of Logan as he mopped up the floor with anyone who tried to stop him. Or got in his way. Or had the misfortune to be present. In fact it was obvious the only thought in the survivors's minds was to get out of his way.

He turned his attention back to Stryker. He sensed the man was becoming increasingly worried. Worried? He was approaching panic. And then he calmed and Charles felt a rush of fear. Something was about to happen. Something desperate. He set his minds to broadcast his thoughts to his friends when the loudspeaker system in the complex came to life.

"Attention, attention. This is Colonel Stryker. All invading mutants will stand down NOW or I will release the nerve agent canisters secreted around the complex and you will all die. Including your helpless friends."

Charles didn't swear much but he detected no sign that Stryker was running a bluff.

"Fuck me."

(To be continued)


	10. Chapter 10

Love Never Forgets Chapter 10 by patricia51

Everyone in the complex froze at Stryker's announcement; human and mutant alike. Guards ceased their futile hammering at the walls of ice Bobby had created. More lowered their weapons throughout the winding halls, effectively surrendering. Even the remnants fleeing before Wolverine and Magneto stood still in shock. Scientists froze their gaze darting back and forth one to the other. Whispers and murmurs filed the air.

Even the invaders stood still in shock. Glances were exchanged. Could he be serious?

Jean gave voice to that thought, sub-vocalizing that very question into the transmitter she and all the others wore.

"Is it even possible he's serious?"

"I cannot read his thoughts Jean," the Professor replied, "but I can sense his emotions and he is feeling a combination of certainty and desperation, strange as those two would seem to be together. But it makes me believe he feels pushed to the wall and has seized upon a last resort. So yes, I think he is serious and capable of carrying out his threat."

"Can you paralyze him Charles?" queried an anxious Logan.

"No," was the brief reply. Logan wanted to ask why not but realized that would be pointless. If Charles could he would. There was no point discussing it. He was tempted to charge on but he hesitated. Perhaps he could heal from even nerve gas as fast as he was poisoned but obviously the rest could not. And even he and Eric together could not smash their way to the control room faster than Stryker could throw a switch. Besides they were far away, having been heading towards the area where they suspected Marie and Kitty were being held.

Charles could not hold Stryker or influence him even with the power of Cerebro. There was just something, maybe the single-mindedness of the man or maybe something twisted there that prevented him from doing anything more than nibbling around the edges. And those edges told the world's most powerful telepath that the man was indeed serious and capable of carrying out his threat.

Could he find out more? Perhaps. His mind sought another.

"Jean?"

The young woman closed her eyes, the better to communicate. "Yes Professor?"

"Join with me. See if we can pierce Stryker's mind, at least enough to determine if the threat is real."

Fortunately the two mutants had worked together ever since the battle with Apocalypse when the full extent of her powers had manifested. Their minds touched and leaped forward together. Even then they found they could not penetrate deep enough into the man's mind to sway him. But they did discover one important thing. Together they broadcast that news to the rest of the team.

"The threat is indeed real. But the canisters of nerve gas are not placed everywhere. There is one in the room we were held in before, one in the science lab, one where Logan was once imprisoned. There are three in the corridors. Two of them are irrelevant; they are not near anyone human or mutant. One is very close to you Logan, in fact only a few feet away from you. And one, remarkably, is in the control room. He is prepared to not only sacrifice his troops but also himself as well."

Although he had spoke over the earplug radios the entire group had from simple force of habit he had also used mental contact with everyone. That was what allowed a certain young woman who wasn't nearly the captive the scientists around her thought she was pick up on the situation and answer him.

"Professor?"

"Kitty?"

The still strapped down girl had her eyes nearly closed but cracked open enough to observe the activity around her. And judging from the frantic behavior of the men in white lab coats it was obvious they had no prior knowledge of Stryker's last ditch weapon. The frantic chatter indicated they weren't exactly in agreement with the idea. Voices babbled around her, wondering if they could improvise protective clothing and realizing that the secondary air supply, once used for the long discarded isolation suits was no longer available. So maybe this would work.

"Professor can you tell me the exact location of the canister here in the lab?"

"I think so but Kitty I doubt that you can disarm it."

"I agree but I'll bet one of these panicked guys here can. Rest assured I don't get the slightest hint that any of them are prepared to die for the cause."

After a brief concentration the Professor gave Kitty the exact location of the bomb and the grill it was hidden behind. She nodded. And leaped to her feet, passing through her restraints.

With all that was going on it was several long seconds before the white-coated crew milling around noticed that one of their test subjects was free. Someone shouted "She's FREE!" to which another voice replied "No shit Sherlock. What was your first clue?" Ignoring them both Kitty sprang for the grill panel the Professor had indicated for her.

Looking over one shoulder at the group she snapped "Someone get a screwdriver and open this up." When no one moved her voice level doubled. "Of course if all of you want to die that's up to you and I'll just be leaving."

"No wait." A young man whom Kitty remembered as having objected more than once to the treatment of her and Rogue sprang to a tool box near the opposite wall. Digging into it he grabbed a screwdriver and rushed over to Kitty and began to quickly take the screws holding the panel off. Dropping it he stuck his head in and carefully scanned the fat canister there.

"It's a simple remote electrical relay that opens that valve," he pointed with the screwdriver to the component parts. "Wire cutters, I need wire cutters," he called.

"You can't do that!" A voice was raised in objection. "That's disobeying orders!"

"No one ordered me to suck nerve gas and if they did I'd tell them where to put their orders and the nerve gas as well," retorted the man beside Kitty.

"An excellent point young man," admitted a distinguished looking older gentleman. "Robert, would you please hand Daniel what he needs? And quickly before someone's trigger finger gets too itchy."

The second technician produced the requested item in record time. Daniel's head and arm disappeared. There were several sharp clicks and a grunt of satisfaction. "That's it."

"Great. Now, if you all don't mind we'll be leaving." Kitty stepped to Rogue. Snapping on a pair of latex gloves she grasped the other young woman's hand. "So long." Without another word she vanished through the wall, taking Rogue with her.

Logan had just finished ripping out the wires of the nerve agent canister when Kitty and Rogue appeared, the Professor having guided her. The girl mutant surveyed the damage. Logan had shredded the entire wall it appeared.

"Think you used enough dynamite there Butch?"

Logan was about to reply when the Professor's voice rang in their ears. Never had any of them felt such fear from him.

"I can feel his determination. He knows it's all going bad for him. He's going to release the gas!"

Kitty all but hurled Marie to Eric, whose gloves she had noted. She grasped Logan by the hand, hoping the sight of the mutant who had more than once previously proved to be his bane might freeze him for an instant or two. Then they were running together as fast as either ever had. They tore through walls and up through floors, following the mental guidance Kitty was receiving.

They burst into the control room. Logan had his claws out and was prepared to tear anyone and everyone limb from limb when the two mutants stopped abruptly. Stretched out on the floor was an unconscious Colonel Stryker. Beside him was a gas mask. Standing over him with a club improvised from some piece of machinery was a very guilty looking technician.

"He said he was going to release the gas," blurted out one of the other members of the control room team. "When he started to don a gas mask we realized that a canister was in here as well and he was going to sacrifice everyone else to try to kill you."

"We had heard rumors that Colonel Stryker had left everyone under his command behind once before. Maybe that's acceptable in a military setting but we're corporate employees and not interested in being sacrificed," the first man stated firmly.

(A few hours later)

"Well," Jean observed, "that ended rather with a whimper rather than a bang."

Everyone involved in the fight had gathered in the Professor's study. He smiled as he looked around at group. Eric had left immediately after Charles had contacted the authorities. Although he knew that the mutant issue would come out eventually he had initially reported the incident as kidnapping and the possession of chemical weapons. Hank had torn through the facility wiping out computers and seeding the entire system with virus to destroy all the research gathered from Kitty and Marie.

Charles' smile grew even broader as he remembered Logan coming back to where he had left Marie. Taking one wrong turn on the way he had decided not to waste time retracing his steps when only a single wall separated them. He had caught her up in his arms, disregarding the fact that the serum that temporarily suppressed her powers was obviously long worn off. It staggered him but he held on until Raven came running with a serum dose she had grabbed from Hank.

Kitty had gone through walls and floors, although without the destruction that Logan had left in his wake, until she found Bobby. The two young mutants had looked at each other for what seemed like an hour but was no more than a few seconds before rushing into each others' arms. Now they sat in the same chair in his office, holding hands as though they would never ream of letting go.

Charles still wasn't sure if it really was his memories of the reset time-line or that Logan's repeated description of events made him think that he recalled them but somehow he was sure his mental picture of Bobby and Kitty holding hands as they greeted him was true. He had been glad then and he was glad now. And as for Loan and Marie, he had always thought that was a relationship just waiting for the two of them to reach the same level.

He had listened, mostly, to the discussion underway about the Essex Corporation. It had been agreed that the organization bore careful observation. Raven would take charge of that, with the proviso that she was NOT to go sneaking into any secured installations with or without Kurt or other help without clearing it with the group first. Storm along with Jean and Scott would get to work on securing the no long secret escape tunnels and coming up with new emergency exits. One hopeful note was that the tunnel to the garage did not seem to have been compromised. And of course teaching and guiding of the young students was still the number one priority.

As everyone filed out of the study, with Logan and Marie not only first out the door but almost breaking into a sprint for their room, the Professor called to Kitty and Bobby.

"Would you two stay for a moment?"

The pair exchanged glances. Not that they hesitated, after all this was the Professor, but after all they had been through they wanted to go somewhere they could discuss their own feelings. Although not planning on being as headlong about their mutual affection as Logan and Marie there was a lot they wanted to say to each other.

"I have debated with myself how much to tell you about at least some of your dreams and visions. Some of them, for instance the fight you both have talked about with Eric and other mutants, I don't know where they come from. Certain ones I do. They have their origin back in 1973 at the Paris Peace accords."

The Professor went on to explain what he remembered and had been told by Logan, both first and second hand, about the world that had existed where the Sentinel program had become the instrument of that world's rulers and led to the near destruction of all but a handful of mutants and what part Bobby and Kitty had played in reversing that time-line.

"You shouldn't remember anything about that because it will have never had existed. I think." Charles looked troubled.

"There are two possibilities when it comes to what transpired when Logan changed the past. The first is that the future was erased, never even having existed. The second is more troubling although it might explain your dreams and visions better. It could be that rather than resetting the time-line Logan's actions created an alternate time-line, more than one in fact. One for instance where Bobby went to find someone to help you Kitty and died doing that and another where he was the last one to stand between you, Logan, Eric and myself as the Sentinels crashed in on us. It would also explain those other scenes you have glimpsed."

"I hope not. I hope the answer is the first scenario. I hope that despite all our efforts there aren't other dimensions, other realities where those terrible things took place." He shook his head and then smiled at the young pair. "Regardless, here and now it seems that you remember each other and are drawn to each other because although the future was changed and what happened between you two never happened because no matter what, love never forgets."

Almost dazed Kitty and Bobby left the study. They walked together, not even realizing that they were holding hands until the reached Kitty's room. Mechanically they cleaned up the still overturned bed and the rest of the mess left from the kidnapping. When they finished Bobby suddenly sat on the edge of the bed, almost collapsing in fact. Kitty hurried to sit beside him.

"Are you alright?" She put her arms around him.

"I don't know about the supposed future scenes," he replied haltingly. "But I do know when I realized that you were gone, had been kidnapped, I nearly lost my mind." He looked into Kitty's eyes and touched her face. "Whether it happened in the future or in alternate realities or whatever it doesn't matter. I just know that right now, right here, I love you."

There was a pause. Not because Kitty couldn't think of what she wanted to say in reply but because she was busy kissing Bobby for all she was worth. When they came up for air they had ended up stretched out on the bed with his arm around her and her head pillowed on his shoulder.

"I love you too Bobby."

(The End)

(My thanks to anyone who has hung in there while I wrestled with writer's block, personal issues and a crazed computer, especially my BFF here at fanfic Lushcoltrane. You're the best.)


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